And here I am, checking back in with the penultimate chapter. I'm sorry to have kept all of you waiting so long! I hope you haven't completely lost faith in me and can still enjoy the story ^_^

.

Julian's boots slammed the uneven concrete of Montevideo Street as he forged his way through a tangle of cracked sidewalk and abandoned buildings. Usually when Julian walked, he was cat-quiet and graceful, but now he moved violently, stomping and kicking at pieces of trash. He needed to make noise right now, to lash out. Magic and danger crackled around him like electricity around a live wire.

How could she say no?

Julian's teeth clenched so hard it hurt.

She felt the same way I did.

But not as tightly as his fists, and not as bad as the sting of his fingernails biting into his palms.

After everything, she picked him.

Julian was angry enough to kill; he felt that in his bones. Julian could destroy Tommy-boy if he wanted, could make him scream in pain or reduce him to a gibbering wreck. He'd grown powerful, and recent events had turned him irrational—and that made him dangerous. He was in the mood to ruin, hurt, demolish—But not Jenny. Furious as Julian was, he was not angry at her. How could he be? He realized he loved her, young as they both were. He could never hurt her, even though she'd just hurt him. None of this was Jenny's fault, not really.

She's just too good.

Julian saw that now. That was why she needed him, and vice versa. Thoughts of Jenny had a calming effect; the memory of her eyes made him sane. Everything was clear, suddenly. Julian knew what he had to do, but first he needed to calm down. Anger still roiled within him, black and dangerous as waves in a storm, and the power that rolled off him warped and thickened the air.

Any human who happened upon Julian now would avoid him on instinct, some ancient predator-prey reflex. That must be prevented. A deep breath—in through the nose, out through the mouth—then he turned and slammed his fist into the nearest building. Or rather, through the nearest building. An aura of black antimatter surrounded Julian's arm like a gauntlet, twisting reality and rendering the brick as malleable as water.

It was an aimless release of power and anger, but it did the trick. When Julian withdrew, he'd managed to rein in some of his fury, and the magic flickered around his body like dying black flames. A less perceptive human wouldn't notice anything unusual about the fledgeling demon. Until, of course, it was too late.

Instead of heading back towards town though, Julian marched deeper into the ugly pit of city. It was Halloween, and he was going to have some fun. These streets were not as abandoned as they seemed, and it was only a matter of time before he found a playmate.

Sure enough, Julian knew the exact moment the thuggy guys started following him. Feigning unaware, Julian wandered further down Montevideo. As he passed one of the few flickering street lights Julian murmured "myrkr," snuffing out the faint electronic glow. None of his pursuers seemed to notice. To their delight, Julian took a turn down a blind alley—he could feel the surge of predatory glee behind him. At the end of the alley, Julian stopped dead. Smirked. Show time.

Julian spun and faced his would-be muggers, a dangerous smile quirking his lips. The guys were advancing, pocket knives suddenly withdrawn, but as Julian looked each one deliberately in the eye, they froze. He wasn't looking at them, but into them; feeling their minds out rather than staring them down. It was a new trick, peering in and coaxing out phobias so that he could read them.

First, the stocky guy with swarthy skin—oh, that's interesting—and then the malnourished looking one who couldn't have been more than fifteen—well, that's a bit ironic, actually.

The teenager spooked first and rushed the white-haired boy with his switchblade thrust out like a lance (terrible form, Julian remarked mentally.) The shadowling skewered him with a glance, making the young assailant slow long enough to notice that there were things on his body—crawling, hissing things with spiny legs and hard carapaces. Cockroaches, naturally.

"Wh-what the—" The teen trembled violently, stomping his feet at the little beasts, but they were on him not the ground, so it did no good. Promptly (and anti-climactically, Julian thought,) the kid turned tail and ran.

Meanwhile, the stocky one was inching forward—slowly, cautiously, but with intent in his beady dark eyes. Julian spun, grinning coldly. This fear was a little more complicated, but that was alright because Julian was ready for a challenge. He locked eyes with the approaching thug. The man's step stuttered, but then he was moving again, determined, until—

The thug stopped, disbelief plain on his face. He was trying to come at Julian, but his foot had hit up against something. He kicked out, pushed with his hands, threw his body forward, but he couldn't budge the invisible wall. The guy tried to circumvent, but his left and right were blocked off as well. As anticipated, he began to panic. Julian watched, head tilted, smile uncanny, as the man tried to retreat but only succeeded in crashing back against yet another wall.

"Let me out!" He tried to scream, but no sound escaped the transparent prison.

As the claustrophobic man sunk to his knees with a silent whimper, Julian tossed his head back and laughed. It really was funny—a terrified, grimy mime trapped in his invisible box.

He took a moment to savor the scene before nodding a goodbye at the insensible man and walking away with an added bounce in his step. The illusions would fade, and the thugs would recover. Well, mostly. Nobody, obviously, would believe them if they recounted the incident; likely it would be credited to drugs. Julian, however, had gotten everything out of this encounter that he'd so desperately needed. He felt better now.

.

The moon bore witness to the events in the alleyway, cold and merciless as the world Julian came from. Now the shadowling could see that this was where he belonged: in dark, hopeless places, prowling like a predator.

Thank you Jenny, for helping me see that.

Everything was so clear, now.

Of course, she'll never understand.

But his eyes had been opened; Julian had been going about this all wrong. It was time to change game plans.